Alamak, so slow how can!
Anyway the shop replacing Killiney is another eatery, a local one 雪山飞糊, as the name suggest, selling ice shaving snack. Tried their food at another branch, nothing great and there is already another 2 more shops just stone throw away selling similar stuff. Hopefully they'll last longer than one lease term cos, another famous cafe further down had just closed.
But again, selling something different and unique may have it's challenge.
A new shop just opened there selling Hokkaido Cheese tart. But it's just too expensive for a regular Johorean that, unlike their Tokyo branch which I've been, is partially having long queues for their hot freshly baked delicious tarts. The local branch has no queue at all with their cabinet full of cold unsold tarts.

Bhd's pre-tax profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 decreased to RM147.10 million from RM210.84 million recorded in 2015.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, the group said the performance was due to higher operation costs and interest expense, as well as, initial costs associated with new stores and mall openings.
Revenue rose 5.5 per cent to RM4.04 billion against RM3.83 billion recorded in 2015, attributable to contributions from its new stores.

More stores yet Profit down by about 30%
Higher Revenue but lower profit - more stores but not selling more stuff but instead selling same amount at higher price and with lower profit margin.
High Operation Cost.

Bad news for all retailers, they need to find a few hundred thousand new easy spending shoppers fast.

Was at the City Square with some friends for some shopping and food and was shocked that one of our favorite restaurant Canton-I was closed for business.
The one opposite, Dragon-I, their sister restaurant serving Shanghainese food is also closed.
Sigh, looks like no more hairy crabs in JB this coming mid-autumn which is around September.
Finally, went to the newly opened Ding Tai Fung, for their Xiao Long Bao, which is doing a moderately brisk business

After our makan, we walked over to JBCC to a look just to find that its rather quiet there.
The newly opened Metrojaya was empty without shoppers or even browsers in sight.
Seems like no improvement for Metrojaya from their Danga Mall days.
Just wonder how they can afford to pay their staff and rental!!
With the opening of another several million sq. ft. more of retail spaces in JB within the next two years (that Paradigm alone is 1.3 million sq.ft.), looks like they really need to find a few hundred thousand new easy spending shoppers really fast.

Was at the City Square with some friends for some shopping and food and was shocked that one of our favorite restaurant Canton-I was closed for business.
The one opposite, Dragon-I, their sister restaurant serving Shanghainese food is also closed.
Sigh, looks like no more hairy crabs in JB this coming mid-autumn which is around September.
Finally, went to the newly opened Ding Tai Fung, for their Xiao Long Bao, which is doing a moderately brisk business

After our makan, we walked over to JBCC to a look just to find that its rather quiet there.
The newly opened Metrojaya was empty without shoppers or even browsers in sight.
Seems like no improvement for Metrojaya from their Danga Mall days.
Just wonder how they can afford to pay their staff and rental!!
With the opening of another several million sq. ft. more of retail spaces in JB within the next two years (that Paradigm alone is 1.3 million sq.ft.), looks like they really need to find a few hundred thousand new easy spending shoppers really fast.

Metrojaya and Komtar maybe improved upon IIBD (Ibrahim International Business district) completion, about 3 years from now
RTS, Singapore to Johor at Bukit Chagar announcement 3rd quarter of 2017.
LRT in Johore and others

Orchard Road has fallen from grace in the eyes of Singaporean shopaholics.

Heck, even rich tai tais and Chinese tourists have decided to spend their money online or in other countries, which explains why the formerly bustling shopping belt is now about as happening as Lim Chu Kang, with lacklustre sales and empty units galore.

To make matters worse, a recent PayPal study shows that brick-and-mortar retailers in Singapore have even more to be worried about.

Singaporeans are spending more and more money online

Online shopping has been blamed for the struggles of Singapore shopping malls. Well, this is a trend that looks likely to continue for some time to come.

The survey found that 38 per cent of the adults interviewed predicted that they would be spending even more money online in 2017, with 78 per cent of these people citing convenience as a key reason.

With more and more retailers offering customers online options or operating on a purely online basis, it appears those who don't adapt are going to lose out.

Mobile shopping is on the rise, too

Brick and mortar retailers need to worry about the astronomic growth of mobile shopping, too.

Shopping on mobile devices like smartphones is expected to increase by 42 per cent in 2017 to make up $1.2 billion worth of transactions-one third of Singaporeans' forecasted online spending for the year.

At least now you know what all those people staring at their phones on the MRT will be doing.

Singaporeans are the most confident cross-border online shoppers in the region

Singaporeans have taken to online shopping like ducks to water. There hasn't been much paranoia about security, or too many worries about undelivered mail.

No wonder Singaporeans have been ranked Asia Pacific's most confident cross-border online shoppers.

Payment technologies are now very secure, and the corporates have also had a part to play in promoting online transactions.

For instance, MasterCard's Zero Liability campaign, featuring Hugh Jackman, aims to reassure customers that they won't be made to pay for unauthorised or fraudulent transactions.

Singaporeans' propensity to shop online also indicates that shoppers are all too ready to abandon brick-and-mortar retailers for their electronic counterparts.

What does this mean for brick-and-mortar retailers?

When Singaporeans have something in mind they want to buy, they are now more likely to first search for it online than to waste hours of their lives squeezing with crowds in shopping malls.

In order to make sales, brick-and-mortar stores are often forced to wait till potential customers are physically out shopping, and then hope they have the right products in the right place at the right time that can catch their eye and convince them to buy.

As if that wasn't bad enough, physical retailers often find it hard to compete with online retailers in terms of price, as their overheads are so much higher. Not only do they have to contend with paying greedy landlords high rents, they also have difficulty competing with online retailers' product ranges, as extensive product ranges demand bigger storage and display spaces.

What can retail shops do?

Physical retailers who insist on maintaining a brick-and-mortar presence will need to change their business models in order to offer unique experiences that online retailers can't provide.

For instance, many retailers are turning their premises into event or lifestyle spaces that offer more than the chance to buy stuff. Kinokuniya organises in-store events such as meet-the-author sessions and panel discussions, while retail/cafe hybrids like In Good Company, a fashion boutique with its own bakery cafe, are becoming increasingly common.

Exclusivity is another thing that can get people out of their homes, as evidenced by the long queues each time H&M has a limited edition designer collaboration. Instead of trying to compete by offering what online retailers are already selling at lower prices, brick-and-mortar retailers can focus on offering exclusivity. This could translate to much smaller retail spaces and a narrower product range which focuses on limited-edition or hard-to-find products.

You can't turn back time, so retailers shouldn't expect customers to someday go back to their previous shopping habits. It's up to them to change if they want to survive.

Metrojaya and Komtar maybe improved upon IIBD (Ibrahim International Business district) completion, about 3 years from now
RTS, Singapore to Johor at Bukit Chagar announcement 3rd quarter of 2017.
LRT in Johore and others

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So you mean all these shops have to tolerate slow business or worse, no business for at least 3 more years?
How many can last more 3 years like this and some more with another few more huge malls opening soon?
And what if come 3 years later, the RTS still in the "planning stage"?
As for the LRT, its a very very long shot with nothing in sight as yet, not even in the "planning stage", lots of empty talks but no formal proposal or budgeting, nothing!
So, for the businesses how then?

QUOTE=snowbird;2592840]So you mean all these shops have to tolerate slow business or worse, no business for at least 3 more years?
How many can last more 3 years like this and some more with another few more huge malls opening soon?
And what if come 3 years later, the RTS still in the "planning stage"?
As for the LRT, its a very very long shot with nothing in sight as yet, not even in the "planning stage", lots of empty talks but no formal proposal or budgeting, nothing!
So, for the businesses how then?[/QUOTE]

When you have lots of shop lot available. It's keep rental low or rock bottom. It keeps your cost low. Thus you can compete with others. As for how you market your service and product is another matter altogether.

Yes, many shoplots are already in trouble.
Just look around, whether in the town area or in the suburb, you'll see hundreds of vacant shoplots all over with many left empty for 2 to 3 years.
The newer shopping malls aren't doing any better.
The new extension in the popular Sutera Mall is still only half occupied after 2 years.
Another huge new extension in Tasek Plaza is worse off with no takers for its new shoplots.
With another 10 big shopping malls opening soon within the next 1,2 years, the situation looks dim as there is simply not enough retailers to take up the spaces.

However, the one that may succeed is the one in Princess Cove.
You can see that they are now very busy trying to build a link pedestrian bridge from the CIQ hopefully in time for the shopping centre opening.
Here, they can draw those day trippers from SG coming out of the CIQ but then it will be at the expanse of City Square and those in her neighborhood.

When you have lots of shop lot available. It's keep rental low or rock bottom. It keeps your cost low. Thus you can compete with others. As for how you market your service and product is another matter altogether.

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Dont think nits as simple as it used to be. It may be so for a developer owned mall, but not so for a privately owned shop lot that costed you 1-2Million (how low can you go?)

But the essence of the problem is more to do with the spending population, be it residential or tourist, and where they will gravitate to, with their (limited?) disposable income.

Where will the china tourists go, the Sgporeans, the locals?. Who will have the greatest spending power?. I suppose the local market will be more price sensitive, but in order to get the bulk of the pie, I think that the mall that succeeds will have to have some wow factor for a greater end users experience; along with scale, and differing choice from the norm, whether it is exclusive brands or specialised cuisines, etc. A tenant mix that caters to different segments, where there is strong value propositions too. Ultimately an experience that is more interesting and unique, which promotes return custom.

Take a look at Sg, even here we have issues with bricks and mortar retail. Has anyone been to Yishun Junction Nine mall. Privately owned lots, suffering limited interests from potential tenants. This could be due to unrealistic asking rents accompanied with lack of customer density. (Why asking rents so high. Simple. Cause they paid too much for their units, and cant cover their loan). Developers got greedy (managed to offload their units), buyers bought the hype, and out of those tenants that can manage to rent, they make smaller margins, but pass on most costs through higher charges to end consumers. People suffer..cost of living goes up, customers spend less. So, again, how to lower rent to the point where the consumer starts to benefit?

The last few years have shown that the frothy exuberance in the JB market was not based on fundamentals, but on an unrealistic vision.

Everybody is overjoyed knowing that there will be about 10 more mega shopping malls opening in JB very soon.
That's the good news.

With so many new malls opening together so soon means that the malls will be trying very hard to find tenants to fill up the malls.
They will need a dozen or more of new McDonalds
They will need a dozen or more of new KFCs and Pizzahuts
They will need a dozen or more of new supermarkets.
They will need a dozen or more of Starbucks and such coffee joints
They will need a several new Cineplex.
And they will also need a few thousand of other mixture of retail shops, restaurants and service providers.
Are the various chain store like McDonald, KFC, Starbucks etc. keen to open dozen more new shops within such a short period?
Wonder whether all the developers thought of that.

And the not so good news is that some opening soon malls are still struggling to hit the 60% occupancy rate.

And the malls need to find another few hundred thousand new shoppers (real shoppers, nor window shoppers) to shop and spend money.With 10 new malls, the total sales turnover should increase by 100%! If not, it'll also 100% not sustainable.

Such trend will also hit the malls and shops in Singapore as more people cross over to shop and eat during holidays and weekends.

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On the flip side it also means those who had invested in the shop units will be forced to accept much lower rent.
Look around you can see hundreds of newly completed shop houses left vacant for 2,3 years now.
Really a bad time for the investors.

Whatever it is, with addition of so many new malls and shop houses, almost doubling the current retail space, the total sales turnover has to be at least doubled to sustain.
So either the current customer base double their spending or they find another few hundred thousand new spending shoppers.
If not, you'll just see deadly cannibalism among the various old and new malls.

On the flip side it also means those who had invested in the shop units will be forced to accept much lower rent.
Look around you can see hundreds of newly completed shop houses left vacant for 2,3 years now.
Really a bad time for the investors.

Whatever it is, with addition of so many new malls and shop houses, almost doubling the current retail space, the total sales turnover has to be at least doubled to sustain.
So either the current customer base double their spending or they find another few hundred thousand new spending shoppers.
If not, you'll just see deadly cannibalism among the various old and new malls.

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If these landlord can let the shop be left vacant for 2 to 3 years without a tenant, this shows that they have the money to hold on even without rental income. Budding Entrepreneur has more chance to open different variety of shops, create a different mix of shopping experience.

JB has the chance to be a shopping paradise if you let me run the show.

If these landlord can let the shop be left vacant for 2 to 3 years without a tenant, this shows that they have the money to hold on even without rental income. Budding Entrepreneur has more chance to open different variety of shops, create a different mix of shopping experience.

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The obvious question shall be how deep are the investors pockets and how much longer can they tahan when their properties are generating a negative yield.
Those people with shallower pockets are renting out the shop units as carwash, makeshift lelong lelong shops and upper floors as workers quarters, just to fetch some pittance rentals rather than getting nothing.
In the meantime, you are also seeing many budding entrepreneurs but inexperienced, opening and closing shops within a very short time.

The obvious question shall be how deep are the investors pockets and how much longer can they tahan when their properties are generating a negative yield.
Those people with shallower pockets are renting out the shop units as carwash, makeshift lelong lelong shops and upper floors as workers quarters, just to fetch some pittance rentals rather than getting nothing.
In the meantime, you are also seeing many budding entrepreneurs but inexperienced, opening and closing shops within a very short time.

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These people has the guts and money to try out. This also benefit the landlord too in this kind of over supplied situation. Problem with Malaysia is that they can hype up the market ,but the Price is always rock bottom. In Chinese we call this situation , 有市无价。That's the problem with Malaysia Johore.